


Spring

by ivyelevast



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Kid Fic, Pre-Slash, so many cavities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-28
Updated: 2012-12-28
Packaged: 2017-11-22 17:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/612372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivyelevast/pseuds/ivyelevast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Viking girls try to get away from the springtime festivities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spring

**Author's Note:**

> This is a birthday fic for my good friend, ccarlet! (Haha, it's not actually late, I win!) It's mostly sickening fluff, but it still managed to become bittersweet near the end, so, uh, hopefully that isn't too much of an issue.
> 
> Astrid and Ruffnut are about 8-9 years old in this fic.

In deference to the climate, springtime in Berk was long in coming. By the time most northern civilizations celebrated the renewal of life, Berk’s citizens had yet to perceive so much as a glint of green in the snowy expanse. Ruffnut did not mind the cold―she was a Viking, after all, and showing weakness just was not done―but even she was secretly thankful when the ice finally broke and the silence of winter lifted. Having said that, Ruffnut was not so sure that she preferred what soon came after. The adults constantly reminded her that she was yet a child, and that she would one day understand, but Ruffnut thought there was something embarrassing about how the older Vikings chased each other like children.

As soon as the snows completely melted and people felt they could remove their outer layers without fear, the preparations to celebrate the arrival of spring began. Much to her relief, Ruffnut had been sent off with the other small children to gather foliage that could later be woven into garlands (Tuffnut had complained, but a quick kick to the shin sorted him out). The fact of the matter was that, at this time of year, the villagers all suffered from a strange fever―and Ruffnut had no interest in being infected with their behavior. Luckily, she could easily stay away: even though no one begrudged the children scurrying about and playing games in the fair weather, it was a tacit understanding that they were more often underfoot than not.

The celebrations, from what Ruffnut observed, were all aimed towards the older kids and the adults. At least, they were the ones that seemed to gleam most enjoyment from it all. The Viking girl did not understand why the older girls thought it was seemly to giggle while being chased by a horde of boys―Ruffnut personally thought that they were all cowards for running away―but that is particularly why she removed herself from it. Vaguely listening to the sounds of merriment in the distance, Ruffnut sat in a forest clearing, drawing patterns in the earth as she waited.

Soon enough, a rustling drew her out of the reverie and she looked up to see Astrid loping towards her, waving a hand in greeting. Ruffnut sat up, smirking as she sized up the satchel at the girl’s side. “Took you long enough,” she complained, looking unimpressed. “I was gonna grow moss soon.”

“The other kids wanted me to play with them,” Astrid answered, unaffected by Ruffnut’s tone. “It took a while to get them off my back.”

Rolling her eyebrows, Ruffnut stood and pushed at the blonde’s shoulder, urging her into motion. “Come on, I’m getting bored sitting still for so long.”

Cheerful, Astrid only nodded, matching the taller girl’s strides as they headed deeper into the forest. Usually the two would have been training together at this time―that is, as much as fighting with tree branches can be called training―so it was only natural that they both had excessive amounts of energy. No one else in the village was going to work laboriously today, but the girls did not want to waste valuable time. If they were ever going to become better warriors than their peers, then they had to constantly train from a very young age. Most Vikings grew into tough warriors, but the process was an arduous one, and one that the girls had gotten a head start on. Ruffnut and Astrid’s sessions were done in secret―not because they were not allowed to, but because they wanted to take satisfaction in the boys’ expressions when they defeated them in combat once official training began. Still, it seemed silly to train on such a day as this. In the end, the girls had compromised and decided to go on a trek to the sea and have a picnic on one of the cliff ridges that stood above the shore.

“Grown-ups are so weird,” Astrid commented as they hiked upwards, “You know when they play tag or whatever it is they do?” Ruffnut nodded, remembering the way the women would unbraid their hair, letting it flow as they ran. “I saw one of the older boys tackle a girl to the ground, but instead of fighting it looked like they were hugging. What’s the point of hugging? How is that going to hurt your opponent?”

Ruffnut made a face, silently acknowledging that adults made no sense whatsoever. “Maybe it’s a way of fighting that they’ll teach us later, when we start actual training,” Ruffnut said musingly as they reached the ridge, throwing down her pack to start setting up for lunch.

Astrid scrunched up her face in that way most children have when they want to be taken seriously. “Do you think so? Maybe it’s a way to disarm your opponent without violence. I think my mom mentioned that there are ways to do that. It’s especially useful when someone is drunk―at least, what’s what mom said.” (The girls did not yet know what being drunk actually constituted, but it was hard to miss whenever some of the Vikings were rowdier than usual―which was saying a lot.)

“I’m sure we’ll find out one day,” Ruffnut said diplomatically, waving a hand. “For now, let’s just eat.”

The girls settled down, choosing to focus on the far more important topic of food. Astrid had managed to pilfer some of the meat from the party, while Ruffnut had been in charge of the bread and their flagon of water. It was not a particularly festive meal, but the food was still tastier than usual and it was only improved by the view of the sea and the good company. Ruffnut did not resent her brother in any way, but he was more annoying than helpful at the best of times, so it was nice to spend time away from him and everyone else. Of course, Ruffnut was not alone, seeing as how Astrid was with her, but they had grown close, and she did not begrudge her company even when she would have rather been on her own. Anyway, Astrid was her partner in arms―it was only natural that they should stick together.

Soon enough, the girls were sated, lazily throwing stones into the water below to see how far they could throw them. They had been discussing what they should work on when they resumed training, but even that topic eventually grew tiresome, and so they had lapsed into comfortable silence. Content, Ruffnut sprawled out, trying to absorb some much-desired sun. She must have been dozing for a fair while, because it took several moments to get her bearings when Astrid finally broke the quiet.

“Why do you think grown-ups get together?” Astrid asked quietly. She was leaning her head on her crossed arms, lying down next to Ruffnut―the latter realizing that she must have actually fallen asleep, considering that she had not noticed the girl lie down next to her.

Still foggy from the nap, Ruffnut rubbed at her eyes, turning on her side to better face her friend. “Get together? What do you mean?”

Astrid raised her eyebrows, looking off to the side. “Oh, you know: they get these weird expressions on their faces and they walk around holding hands. And they can’t stop smiling either. It makes me feel uncomfortable sometimes.”

Still bleary, Ruffnut shook her head, scooting closer to avoid the chill. The sun had not moved too far across the sky, but a tree in the way currently prevented it from warming their spot. “I dunno. Maybe they’re just really good friends?”

Astrid frowned, propping her chin against her forearm. “We’re best friends, but you don’t see us walking through the village doing that.”

“We don’t hang out that much in the village though,” Ruffnut admitted a little sadly. So much of their free time together was delegated to training that they rarely spent it otherwise. The younger girl canted her head to the side, thinking. After a few moments of deliberation, she reached for Ruffnut’s hand, the latter easily responding and threading their fingers together.

Astrid screwed up her face in concentration, looking upwards. Eventually she nodded once, tightening her hold on Ruffnut’s hand. “I guess there’s nothing weird about holding hands. You’re probably right―they are just friends.”

The taller girl nodded, smirking. “They’re best friends. That’s why they end up living in one house.”

Astrid laughed, leaning on Ruffnut’s shoulder, “Is that why they sleep in one bed?”

Putting on a very knowing expression, Ruffnut tucked one arm underneath her head, keeping the hand still entwined with Astrid’s on her abdomen. “Well, duh. I bet you that they all trained to be warriors together. That means that they’re always keeping each other’s back―and what better way to protect your friend than by living with them?”

The smaller girl widened her eyes in awe, speechless. Satisfied, Ruffnut smirked and patiently waited for what she knew would come next. She did not have to wait long, as Astrid soon prodded her shoulder gently. “Ruff, you mean like how we’re training together?”

The reasoning struck her suddenly, and Ruffnut released the grin as she reveled in the enlightenment. “That’s it! That must be the reason why the older people chase each other and give each other gifts.”

Astrid was visibly annoyed that her question was not further explored but she nonetheless motioned to her friend, asking for clarification. “You mean they want to train together?”

“Yes―they must be looking for a fighting partner. But we’ve already been training for ages. We have a head start on _everyone_ ,” Ruffnut explained, smiling wistfully as she spoke.

The other blonde smiled tentatively, staring at her friend. “So, when we’re older…”

“When we’re older, we’ll be the only pair out of everyone that will actually be dig―digni―dignified,” Ruffnut finished, having finally remembered the term her parents had used. “Everyone else will be running around like idiots trying to tackle each other, but we’ll be walking through the village with our heads held high, ‘cause we’re already best friends for life.” At this last statement, Ruffnut held up their clasped hands in a victorious salute.

Contented, Astrid grinned, “And we’ll be the greatest warriors in all of Berk.”

“No way―we’ll be the greatest warriors in the whole _history_ of Berk. No dragon will stand a chance against us.” Ruffnut corrected, lost in daydream. “And we’ll build a huge house just for the two of us. And we’ll build a big room where we can still train when it’s really cold outside. And, and we can have a room where we have all our weapons and trophies of all the dragons we will defeat in battle.” Ruffnut paused, remembering how annoying it was to share a room with her twin. “And we can have our own bedrooms too.”

Astrid startled, abruptly looking nervous. She would not have elaborated otherwise, so Ruffnut nudged her friend with an elbow, encouraging her. “Don’t you dare tell anyone, but―I don’t like sleeping alone.”

Unable to help herself, the taller girl laughed, but soon relented to ease the other girl’s glare. Admittedly, there were darker nights when Ruffnut could not imagine wanting to sleep on her own, so it was not fair to hold that against Astrid. “Okay, we’ll have one bedroom with a really big bed, and we’ll cover it in furs and it’ll be really warm during the winter. How does that sound?”

Seemingly satisfied, Astrid nodded decidedly, settling back down to rest against Ruffnut’s side. “I could probably get used to this,” chuckled Astrid from where her face was squashed against the blonde’s upper arm.

Rolling her eyes more in endearment than true annoyance, Ruffnut relaxed and took to watching the clouds above them. Most of them ended up looking like either weapons or dragons, but the important thing is that she had made the effort. A good deal of time has passed by before the moment when Astrid made a strange noise in her throat. Surprised, Ruffnut looked down at her friend, only to have the blonde sit up with a confused expression. The two had not bothered to let go of each other’s hands before, but now Astrid pulled hers back, scratching at her forehead.

“Ruff, all those pairs that we said train together…why are they are made up of a man and a woman?”

The aforementioned girl paused before sitting up herself, furrowing her brows. “I’m…not sure. I never thought about it before.”

“Do you think,” began Astrid, swallowing, “that that’s the way you’re supposed to do it? That we have to train with one of the _boys_?” The blonde stuck her tongue out, disgusted.

Ruffnut shook her head, trying to get the unsettling image of Astrid training with her brother out of her mind. “Gods, I hope not.”

“What if we can’t help it? What if, when we grow older, we’ll _want_ to train with a boy?” The girl looked down, perturbed. Frowning, Ruffnut scooted closer, raising an arm to enwrap her friend’s shoulders.

“Hey. Astrid. Listen, I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to have someone watching out for my back, then I want it to be either you or no one else. I’ll, I’ll fight a dragon to prove to everyone that I’m serious, if I have to. No one else can tell us different.”

Placated, the corner of Astrid’s mouth curled slightly and she raised her head, hand lifting to grasp at the arm still wrapped around her shoulders. “Me too. I mean, I’d want it to be you.”

“Just you wait. When it’s our time, we’ll be the dignified ones, just like I said. We’ll be great.”

Uplifted and determined, the two girls smiled at each other, shaking hands to seal the agreement. As they settled back to watch the sun move towards the horizon, they let go of any anxieties entangled with the future. With years would come change and even the best-laid plans would not come out unscathed, but for now, none of that was relevant. All that mattered was that, in that moment, they were happy, and nothing that would come after could change that.


End file.
